We would all love if Super Bowl 50 proves to be the greatest game of them all. But while we wait for Sunday, we’ll rank the first 49 this way:

49. XXIV — 49ers 55, Broncos 10: MVP Joe Montana threw five TD passes and it was 41-3 early in the third quarter as George Seifert became the second rookie head coach to win the Super Bowl and John Elway dropped to 0-3 in the Super Bowl.

48. XLVIII — Seahawks 43, Broncos 8: Only 12 seconds into the first quarter, Peyton Manning watched a center snap sail over his shoulder for a safety, and it was all downhill after that against the Legion of Boom in the first outdoor cold-weather Super Bowl … in 49-degree temperatures.

46. XXVII — Cowboys 52, Bills 17: Jim Kelly was knocked out early, but you aren’t going to beat the Triplets (Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin) when you commit nine turnovers. At least Don Beebe stripped a showboating Leon Lett before he could make it 59-17.

45. XXXVII — Buccaneers 48, Raiders 21: Former Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who at the time became the youngest coach at 39 to win a Super Bowl, apparently knew the offense as well as quarterback Rich Gannon did, as the Bucs returned three of his five interceptions to the end zone.

44. XXXV — Ravens 34, Giants 7: One of the best defenses in history stuffed Tiki Barber and intimidated Kerry Collins into four interceptions and carried Trent Dilfer to the title.

42. XVIII — Raiders 38, Redskins 9: Derrick Jensen blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone, LB Jack Squirek returned a Joe Theismann interception for a TD and MVP Marcus Allen (a then-record 191 yards rushing) unleashed an epic 74-yard TD run in the third quarter.

Franco Harris runs past Minnesota’s Jackie Wallace and into the end zone in Super Bowl IX.AP

39. XXVI — Redskins 37, Bills 24: Joe Gibbs won his third Super Bowl with his third different quarterback, MVP Mark Rypien, while Kelly was intercepted four times, sacked five times and had five passes batted down, and Thomas couldn’t find his helmet.

38. IV — Chiefs 23, Vikings 7: MVP Len Dawson matriculated the ball down the field for Hank Stram, and the dominant Kansas City defense, anchored by massive Buck Buchanon, intercepted Joe Kapp twice and knocked him out in the fourth quarter.

33. XL — Steelers 21, Seahawks 10: An inconclusive 1-yard TD run by Ben Roethlisberger and a phantom holding call that ruined what likely would have been a fourth-quarter TD drive caused sleeplessness in Seattle as Jerome Bettis retired on top.

James Washington sprints to a touchdown after recovering a Thurman Thomas fumble in Super Bowl XXVIII.AP

32. XXVIII — Cowboys 30, Bills 13: The Bills saw a 13-6 halftime lead vanish once Cowboys safety James Washington returned a Thurman Thomas fumble 46 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter, and MVP Emmitt Smith rumbled for 132 yards and two TDs.

30. XIX — 49ers 38, Dolphins 16: Montana (331 yards, three TDs) outdueled second-year phenom Dan Marino, who was sacked four times and would never return to a Super Bowl. RB Roger Craig caught two TD passes and rushed for another.

29. XXIII — Broncos 34, Falcons 19: Elway beat former coach Dan Reeves and became the oldest QB to win a Super Bowl at 38. Atlanta safety Eugene Robinson was arrested on the eve of the game, charged with soliciting prostitution from an undercover police officer.

28. V — Colts 16, Cowboys 13: Rookie Jim O’Brien, who had an extra point blocked earlier in the game, booted a 32-yard field goal with five seconds left in a Blooper Bowl low-lighted by 11 turnovers and a rib injury to Johnny Unitas.

25. I — Packers 35, Chiefs 10: Unlikely hero Max McGee, on an hour’s sleep, came off the bench hungover after Boyd Dowler suffered a shoulder injury and caught a pair of TD passes from MVP Bart Starr as Vince Lombardi’s NFL made its statement to the AFL.

24. VII — Dolphins 14, Redskins 7: The first and only undefeated season, though Garo Yepremian provided a blooper for the ages when he picked up his blocked field goal and threw a panicked interception to Mike Bass with 2:10 remaining. Historical significance.

23. XVII— Redskins 27, Dolphins 17: MVP John Riggins (166 rushing yards) rumbled for a 43-yard TD run in the fourth quarter, and David Woodley couldn’t complete a pass in the second half.

22. XXXI — Packers 35, Patriots 21: Brett Favre passed for two TDs and rushed for another, and MVP Desmond Howard returned a kickoff 99 yards in Bill Parcells’ last game as Patriots coach.

21. XLI— Colts 29, Bears 17: Peyton Manning, slinging in the rain, won his elusive first ring as Tony Dungy became the first black head coach to win one, with Rex Grossman throwing a 56-yard pick-six to Kelvin Hayden in the fourth quarter. Historical significance.

20. XXX— Cowboys 27, Steelers 17: MVP cornerback Larry Brown earned a free-agent windfall from the Raiders when Neil O’Donnell gift-wrapped him two interceptions. O’Donnell, of course, was rewarded with a $25 million free-agent deal by the Jets.

19. XXXIX— Patriots 24, Eagles 21: MVP Deion Branch (11 catches, 133 yards) led Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to their third championship in four years as a gassed Donovan McNabb engineered a late fourth-quarter TD drive in slow-motion.

18. XVI — 49ers 26, Bengals 21: Bill Walsh and Montana built a 20-0 lead by halftime and held on thanks to a fourth-down stop of bruiser RB Pete Johnson at the end of a goal-line stand.

17. X — Steelers 21, Cowboys 17: MVP Lynn Swann stole the show with a juggling, tumbling, acrobatic catch at midfield of a ball tipped by cornerback Mark Washington and 64-yard TD catch from Terry Bradshaw in the fourth quarter.

14. XLIV — Saints 31, Colts 17: Four years after Hurricane Katrina, a Sean Payton onsides kick to start the second half, a fourth-quarter TD pass by Drew Brees and a 74-yard pick-six of Peyton Manning by Tracy Porter turned Super Sunday into Mardi Gras.

13. XIII — Steelers 35, Cowboys 31: A wide-open Jackie Smith became one of the all-time Super Bowl goats when he dropped what would have been a 10-yard TD pass from Roger Staubach. Tough to beat four Bradshaw TD passes like that.

12. XXXII — Broncos 31, Packers 24: Elway, with major help from MVP Terrell Davis and an inspirational helicopter spin for a first down, captured his first ring at age 37 after three failures.

9. XXXVI — Patriots 20, Rams 17: Brady, from his 17-yard line, engineered the drive that led to Adam Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal as time expired for a huge upset in the first Super Bowl after the 9/11 attacks.

8. XXXIV — Rams 23, Titans 16: Against The Greatest Show on Turf, Steve McNair drove from his 8-yard line to the St. Louis 10, where he hit Kevin Dyson and watched a Mike Jones leg tackle leave Dyson reaching desperately for the goal-line a yard short on the game’s final play.

7. XXIII — 49ers 20, Bengals 16: The legend of Joe Cool. Trailing 16-13 and starting at his 8-yard line, Montana looked up into the stands and asked offensive tackle Harris Barton: “Isn’t that John Candy?” With 34 seconds left, his 10-yard TD pass to John Taylor won it.

6. XXXVIII — Patriots 32, Panthers 29: Jake Delhomme hit Ricky Proehl with a 12-yard TD pass to tie the game with 1:08 left, but John Kasay’s kickoff went out of bounds, giving Brady the ball at the 40, and on came Vinatieri.

5. XLIII — Steelers 27, Cardinals 23: James Harrison’s unlikely 100-yard interception return would play second fiddle to Roethlisberger’s game-winning 6-yard TD pass in the right corner of the end zone to toe-tapping MVP Santonio Holmes.

4. III — Jets 16, Colts 7: The Upset Heard ’Round the World that validated the AFL, horrified the Establishment NFL and provided the impetus for one united league. Joe Namath guaranteed it. Historical significance of the game trumps the game itself.